


A Softly Shimmering Gold

by aylixgreen



Category: Harry Potter - Fandom
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-10
Updated: 2020-04-10
Packaged: 2021-03-01 21:02:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 460
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23573557
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aylixgreen/pseuds/aylixgreen
Relationships: Hermione Granger/Severus Snape
Comments: 2
Kudos: 35





	A Softly Shimmering Gold

Title: A Softly Shimmering Gold  
Pairing: SS/HG, sort of...  
Challenge: Mistletoe, #208 at [Snape100](http://community.livejournal.com/snape100) on livejournal.  
Word Count: 4x100  
Rating: G  
Author's Notes: This is my first entry for Snape100, and one of my first drabbles ever. It is un-Beta'd, so I apologise if it's terrible. If anyone wants to offer Beta skills... LOL. So, without further ado...

_Focus!_ Hermione thought, adding the juniper berries one by one and stirring with her other hand. _If you get this wrong, Professor Snape dies._ Mistletoe was next, crushed with the flat side of an athame. When complete, the potion would restart Snape's heartbeat and reverse effects of the Anti-pulmonary Hex he'd received. _It has to work. We can't afford to lose him._ I _can't lose him._ As his Potions Apprentice, she had been permitted to see behind Snape's mask. Their developing friendship made his condition a personal concern for Hermione; her life would change forever if Professor Snape didn't survive...

*****

Evening saw Professor Snape still in stasis under Madam Pomfrey's watchful eye.The potion would be ready just before midnight, when it would be administered. If it worked, the stasis bubble would turn from its current smoky hue to a healthy shade of yellow. If it failed, the bubble would eventually weaken and darken as Snape's life ebbed away; everyone was hoping it would turn yellow. Just before midnight, Hermione appeared with the potion, handing it to Madam Pomfrey with a sigh. "Well," she said wearily, "now we find out if I'm worthy of the apprenticeship." She paced the infirmary, waiting.

*****

Fifteen minutes became thirty, then an hour. At two hours, and with no visible change in Snape's condition, Hermione retreated to his dungeons to escape the bewildered sympathies of her friends. Neither staff nor students understood her fondness for Professor Snape. She could barely explain respect and friendship, let alone the attraction she was beginning to feel towards him. She lit the fireplace in his rooms and collapsed into 'her' armchair, sobbing. _Why didn't I realize before how much he means to me?_ Hermione wondered. _If I'd told him, would it have changed anything?_ Hours passed unnoticed while she wept.

*****

In the hospital wing, the time passed more slowly as Order members awaited Snape's return to health. Hermione's abrupt departure was the subject of most conversations. Harry Potter proclaimed - rather loudly, in fact - his belief that the 'greasy git' had 'done something to Hermione!' He was quickly shushed by Professor McGonagall, but the damage was done. Suddenly, everyone's opinions were open for discussion, and every public interaction between Snape and his Apprentice was scrutinized, every private meeting speculated upon. Betting commenced; money changed hands. In all the commotion, no one noticed as the stasis bubble became a softly shimmering gold...

  



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